Recently we reported several wineries, including Castoro Cellars and Peltier Station, have gone DE-free for the past two vintages by combining the uniquely modified STS 200 System along with a cross-filter. Those wineries have sizeable capacities in the range of 5,000 – 12,000 tons crush range. Yet, such an accomplishment in a much larger commercial winery would appear to be a daunting task…until now.
We have also learned a much larger Californian cellar has completely eliminated the need for either Lees or Rotary Vacuum Drum Filtration during the 2013 vintage.
This feat is made all the more remarkable by a recent substantial increase in production throughput of the winery into the 50,000 – 150,000 tons range.
This large winery has achieved what many thought logistically impossible for any large-volume wineries by intelligently re-engineering their process to leverage existing gravity and centrifugal technology – headlined by The STS 200 System, as supplied by Separator Technology Solutions.
Like many large-scale cellars, this winery utilizes screw presses to maximize yield however, which also creates relatively high solids downstream.
However, by then intelligently applying a revised combination of gravity and centrifugation, the winery achieved its wine style & processing objectives of low solids into white & blush fermentations and subsequent rapid clarification of white, blush & red wines post-fermentation. Their processes were wholistic, handling also their fresh high solids and heavy lees, and thereby eliminating the RDV or Lees Filter in their winery operation.
Going DE-free was previously viewed as an effort toward ensuring employee safety as well as a more environmentally friendly option. However, efficient use of the STS 200 centrifuge technology has significantly increased returns by cutting peripheral costs from DE expenses and waste processing as well as increasing yield, quality, and value of the finished product.
This large-scale cellar is effectively utilizing their centrifuge technology to improve wine quality, tailor for wine style, maximize yield, reduce downgrades to DM & increase overall processing capacity, whilst consequently also eliminating all filter powders for high solids & lees clarification. Congratulations folks!
Jim Tubridy
Separator Technology Solutions US Inc
